Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-01-19
AN OPERATORS STORY.

NV N' WIN llNdl suNNN1o III hNS IAbhNs
sion, as follows:
Almost three years ago | first visited
this famous watering place. ! had been
working a circuit in various cities and
stopped off here for a little recreation.
One evening in the dining room, amid
the clatter Of dishes and knives and forks,
my trained ear caught a meaning from
the idle drumming on the table OF knives
in the hands of two we'll dressed men OPP
posite me. To the crowd, if noticed at
all. those sounds only indicated impa-
thence at the hurrying yet delayed walters.
II il had been commonplace converse
ton | should not have needed their CON-
munication, except, perhaps, for sport to
.'call" them. They licked of a phrase or
two at intervals during their meal. Once
the head waiter noticed the blinking OF a
spoon upon a cup, and inquired il either
Of them wanted anything. For an in
slant they were confused. then one said he
wanted more coffee. A waiter replen-
ished his nearly full cup. After that the
ticks were less frequent. Ofcoursei II was
none of my business, but ! could not help
hearing the tick talk, and the converse
ton was so curious il greatly interested
me.
That very evening, while | was reading
In the Office, the two conversers in light
ming lingo at the table came in and lit
fresh cigars. Occasionally the hotel
''sounder' clicked tidings from the world
in the surrounding night. The death of
a man Of national prominence was her
aided by the instrument. Before the
hotel operator informed the b~ysianders of
that important news one OF the strange
operators said to the other; He's dead at
last
Hush whispered the other.
Nobody seemed TO notice the betraying
observation OF its rejoinder.
As | wondered at the object in view OF
that pair Of mysterious conrersers | did
not reveal my identity, but determined 10
heed any signs. Whenever they were in
the dining room first ! thought best moi
to sit near them, and, therefore, did not
obtain any peculiar information.
After a steamboat ride on beautiful
Seneca | visited Ithaca 10 inspect Cornell
university. When | returned To Watkins
the landlord told me he was sorry h
coull not give me my former room be-
cause Of an extra large excursion party.
He could. however, give Inc as good,
which | thankfully accepted.
That night | was IA from being sorry
for the change of room, IS ! heard mys-
FERROUS raps on the wall. Somebody VAS
signaling TO some one in another room.
II the message had been ordinary ] should
have signGled that I was an uninten'
tional listener.
II was the same old iargon OF unmean.
ing words and phrases. From the fire.
quent repetition Of some Of them a few
had become familiar to me. As "A com
mercial operator I had handled many
cipher messages. To amuse myself |
tried 10 solve these. In them n leading
expression had been; The soup is late.
( Now the raps said: The soup is getting
hot" was more than ever convinced
there was a plot somewhere about some
thing. These conv stations, being dis
guised. were in themselves suspicious. !
thought | had made out some OF the key
10 the ciDher
As the night was pleasant | went down
stairs and took a stroll \ few stars
peeped out. The wind sighed through
the famous gorge close by. | sauntered
along cautiously. however. as the adj
jacent chasm would have been a conren-
lent place for a footpad to dispose OF his
victim without exciting alarm.
Suddenly ! saw "A light flash out and
disappear above the glen. Almost with.
ont any reason | turned my head aud saw
a light flash from the upper portion Of the
hotel The moonless night swallowed
up both lights. Perhaps the light in the
hotel was accidental. May be my excited
senses were deceived about the CLEAN
over tie glen. Nobody OF flesh and blood
could flash "A light 100 feet above the IIttl,
stream whose voice was lost ~ the black
depths below. Perhaps II WIS "A fired,
flashing It's tiny lamp out IN the empti-
ness, nearly 800 feet from bank To bank at
that point.
thought for some time about the I'M
known ingredients OF that soup |
Rugged the friendly pine tree rs some
body walked cautiously past. going to-
ward the hotel. A few minutes after !
determined To investigate one theory.
Cautiously | sought the track Of the
railway Carefully | crept along the ties
and went out over the abyss. estimated
the distance where the light flashed, and
earnestly groped for something, ! knew
not what. You may think | was foolish.
wal about ~ 20 back to the hotel
when my right hand, beside a rail, touched
a wire. struck a match, and shielding
the blaze, I perceived that the copper wire
ran into a pasteboard cuff box tied secure.
" under a cross timber. The wire led
into the air toward the hotel.
The brief light was out. There chung,
held up By the structure which, for all its
stone, iron and wood seemed To almost
sway in the gale sweeping down the
canyon. Taking out my pocket Knife, ]
grasped the wire on the outside OF the rail
with my left hand and with my right
closed over Il the big knife blade. The
outer severed end | fastened around a
rail.
You may bn sure ! carefully united that
box. was tempted 90 heuye II into the
gorge but recollected that such q course
would Illustrate my plan 10 detect and
convict those dynamiters, ASH treadlng
= path among eggs, ! started to return.
i left that mysterious box In a summer
house TO guard against any spy noting IL
In the hotel.
BY argent request the night clerk eau
tfously admitted me 10 the room OF the
proprietor. With due precaution ] con-
Adsd Ia him. He went out and gave the